Quote:MMAyou.com got to catch-up with Maurice Smith as he gets ready to face Hidehiko Yoshida at Sengoku III on June 8th. Check out what Smith has to say regarding Yoshida, his fights with Peter Aerts, GSPís and Machidaís striking, and much more.

MMAyou.com: First, how are you doing?

Smith: Iím great as always.

MMAyou.com: Youíre set to face Hidehiko Yoshida next. Please give us your thoughts on the fight.

Smith: Just a friend of the fight. I just have to be careful of the judo, and thatís about it.

MMAyou.com: How would you rate Bas Rutten as a striker?

Smith: In comparison to whom? In comparison to kick boxers or strikers in MMA or what?

MMAyou.com: Either/or, whatever you like.

Smith: He hasnít done kickboxing that I know of but he is definitely a strong striker. But he hasnít competed in any kickboxing that I know. I think he did when he was younger, I donít know for sure but heís a strong striker. Definitely.

MMAyou.com: What made Peter Aerts such a tough opponent for you?

Smith: The height. The height was the key thing. Him and Ernesto gave me a lot of problems because of their height because if all is equal, if ALL is equal then the difference being the height. So weíre both good strikers, weíre both smart fighters but they can use their height to their advantage. Thatís the only problem with those guys with me.

MMAyou.com: Would you like to rematch Renzo Gracie?

Smith: (laughs) Of course but it ainít gonna happen. Of course. Any losses you want to try to avenge but I donít see it happening.

MMAyou.com: Lyoto Machida and Georges St. Pierre are both effective strikers in MMA, and they both have a karate base. What is better for MMA striking, karate or Thai Boxing?

Smith: For me Thai Boxing. Karateís not really a, to me itís not a fighting art. Itís moreÖ Itís a traditional fighting art but itís not, it doesnít do well too often in MMA or even in kickboxing. It has its place in traditional martial arts but as far as fighting, I donít see it.

MMAyou.com: If you were training an MMA fighter from scratch, what arts would you have him training it? Smith: Kickboxing, judo, Greco-Roman, and grappling. Grappling meaning whatever it is. Not necessarily Jiu Jitsu but whatever grappling style that is.

MMAyou.com: Rank these all time greats: Kaman, Aerts, Hoost.

Smith: Different times. Hoost and Aerts were at the same time so their records speak for themselves and Kaman came in earlier so itís a different generation of fighters. I donít know, I canít give that answer.

You can compare Hoost and Peter Aerts together and I think Hoost wins that one right? (inaudible) by their records, right? So that covers that one. Kaman was too small for those guys so that wouldnít happen because of different weight classes.

MMAyou.com: I agree with that. Is there anything you would like to say to our readers?

Smith: Thanks for supporting the fight game. Keep supporting the athletes and without you thereís no us.

Read this carefully and tell me what you think.

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<

I have read it and heard similar from non karate guys. But I am not sure what Maurice Smith's opinion has to do with why karate works in an environment with no rules and no boundaries, but not in MMA. In fact, according to Mo Smith karate is not for fighting at all.

What I meant creative, was that kata does not have any advantage over any other exercise combining anaerobic and aerobic fitness. A muscle cell can only contract, whether doing a kata or jumping jacks. It was mentioend that the best form of conditioning or closest anyway, to real fighting is kata. Why is this so? It's no different from doing any other exercise as long as it equally stresses the muscle. Shadowboxing, kata, a calisthenic circuit, bag work, all would be equally effective for conditioning you for combat so saying that kata is necessary because it's a superior form of combat conditioning simply isn't true. Actually bag work is arguably more effective for combat conditioning because you're actually hitting something. Effective yes, the closest to real fighting or anything? Not at all because exercise is exercise (as long as the same systems are being worked equally).You're right about the intensity thing though that statement I made was pretty incomplete.Brian-was my answer to your question on my kata experience satisfactory?

Edited by Stormdragon (06/06/0812:08 AM)

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Member of DaJoGen MMA school under Dave Hagen and Team Chaos fight team under Denver Mangiyatan and Chris Toquero, ran out of Zanshin Martial Arts in Salem Oregon: http://www.zanshinarts.org/Home.aspx,

It was I who made the observation that seiyunchin kata practice was the closest I had come in solo training to the fatigue felt in sparring (I think the fatigue of real combat or MMA is much harder to replicate in any sense because you need adrenalin, fear etc., so I'm not going there nor have I ever sought to).

Now why is kata better (IMHO) than shadow boxing, for example? The formality, the low stances, tension, explosive movements, the pre-arranged format (so that, unlike shadow boxing, you don't "run out of ideas" or start doing easier moves subconsciously when you get fatigued) are all factors that apply.

I have a lot of time for shadow boxing. IMHO, kata is like shadow boxing, but with resistance added in the form of a compulsory "roadmap", formality and precision (which is hard to maintain when you get tired) low stances, the transition from stance to stance (conditioning the tendons and ligaments as well as the muscles), the difficult turns, etc.

This is my opinion based on my own experience. If you haven't done seiyunchin you might not know what I mean. If you have and still disagree, that's okay. Not everyone has the same experience doing something.

Is kata better than bag work? It's different and provides different conditioning. I wouldn't replace bag work with kata. Bag work alone however has its limitations - if it didn't boxers wouldn't do skipping, shadow boxing, speedball, floor to ceiling ball, etc.

Quote:Now why is kata better (IMHO) than shadow boxing, for example? The formality, the low stances, tension, explosive movements, the pre-arranged format (so that, unlike shadow boxing, you don't "run out of ideas" or start doing easier moves subconsciously when you get fatigued) are all factors that apply.

That's a very good point Dan.

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<

Quote:I have read it and heard similar from non karate guys. But I am not sure what Maurice Smith's opinion has to do with why karate works in an environment with no rules and no boundaries, but not in MMA. In fact, according to Mo Smith karate is not for fighting at all.

Well, I certainly don't agree with Maurice's assessment,but he's the pro fighter not me. I'm just the lowly karate guy from Arkansas.

Marcel, you know why. How many things have you learned in karate that cannot be trained or done in a live environment?

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<

Quote:I have read it and heard similar from non karate guys. But I am not sure what Maurice Smith's opinion has to do with why karate works in an environment with no rules and no boundaries, but not in MMA. In fact, according to Mo Smith karate is not for fighting at all.

Well, I certainly don't agree with Maurice's assessment,but he's the pro fighter not me. I'm just the lowly karate guy from Arkansas.

Marcel, you know why. How many things have you learned in karate that cannot be trained or done in a live environment?

In terms of my karate I practice two things. I practice techniques and principles. There are techniques that cannot be safely practiced in a live environment, however, I have not seen any principles that cannot be trained live. It is not the techniques of karate that make it work, but the principles. In fact, the fact that principles can be trained and techniques of karate inserted at will is one of the keys to karate's effectiveness. That makes it adaptable to just about any combative situation.

Quote: In terms of my karate I practice two things. I practice techniques and principles. There are techniques that cannot be safely practiced in a live environment, however, I have not seen any principles that cannot be trained live. It is not the techniques of karate that make it work, but the principles. In fact, the fact that principles can be trained and techniques of karate inserted at will is one of the keys to karate's effectiveness. That makes it adaptable to just about any combative situation.

I agree, but do you believe they are better off to adapt to an mma situation or just train mma for mma fighting?

Takes some time for getting down the kata and principles, much less being able to apply them.

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<